Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in the settlement letter for the Government Equalities Office in respect of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Lynne Featherstone: The settlement letter relating to the Government Equalities Office did not identify funding specifically to meet staff redundancy costs.

Visas: Pakistan

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Pakistani citizens were refused visas  (a) by her Department's Abu Dhabi office in the 12 months since the opening of that office and  (b) in the 12 months four years prior to that date.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency's Visa Section in Abu Dhabi assumed responsibility for processing all non-settlement visa applications lodged in Pakistan on one November 2008. In the 12 months to 31 October 2009, a total of 40,612 visa applications from Pakistani nationals were refused at the visa section.
	The number of visa applications from Pakistani nationals that were refused at the visa section in Abu Dhabi in the each of the four years prior to 1 November 2008 is shown in the following table. The vast majority of these applications would have been lodged by Pakistani nationals resident in United Arab Emirates. Applications from those resident in Pakistan were processed in Islamabad.
	
		
			  As at November to October  Number 
			 2004- 05 768 
			 2005- 06 762 
			 2006- 07 799 
			 2007- 08 444

Care Homes: Standards

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which residential care homes have been subject to enforced closure by the Care Quality Commission since the Commission was established.

Simon Burns: The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. It has a range of enforcement powers in relation to the registration of providers, including (in the most serious cases) closure of services.
	The care Quality Commission has provided the following information.
	The registration of eight care home providers has been subject to enforced cancellation by the Commission since it became operational on 1 April 2009. One of these was an urgent cancellation under section 20 of the Care Standards Act 2000. These are:
	16 Burghley Road, London, NW5 1UE
	Kenilworth Residential Home, 13-14 Linton Road, Hastings, TN34 1TW
	Mervyn Lodge, 33 Ashby Road, DE15 OLQ
	Carleton House, 33 St Lawrence Avenue, Worthing, BN14 7JJ
	Glen Eden, 45 Richmond Road, Worthing, BN11 4AF
	Forest View Nursing Home, 100-104 West Coker Road, Yeovil, BA20 2JG
	Sherwood Lodge, 42 - 44 Stuart Road, Gillingham, ME7 4AD
	Ollerton Manor Care Home, Wellow Road, Newark, NG22 9AH(1)
	(1) Closed under section 20 of the Care Standards Act 2000.

Dental Services

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to review his Department's document Best Practice HTM 01-05 on dental surgeries; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of decontamination practices in dental surgeries.

Simon Burns: The Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 01-05 is a living document and the Department has made a commitment to update it to reflect new evidence as this becomes available. Further, a commitment has been made review the entire document within two years of publication. Dental practices are required within essential quality requirements to have a plan in place to demonstrate how they will achieve best practice. The primary aim of the HTM 01-05 is to encourage practices to meet essential quality requirements and to encourage further progression and improvement.
	The Department in partnership with the Health Protection Agency and the national health service have recently completed a Dental National Decontamination Survey, the principal aim of which is to establish a baseline of the quality of local decontamination in dental practices against the requirements in the HTM 01-05. A provisional report is expected in the next few weeks.

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on overseas visits for senior officials in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The Department (excluding its agency-Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) spent £415,686.88 on overseas visits by senior officials in the financial year 2009-10. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.
	Details of business expenses (included in the total above) and hospitality received for the Department's directors general and above are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartment Leaders/Departmentdirectors/DH_110759

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the outcome of his Department's randomised injectable opiate treatment trials.

Anne Milton: Any approach that helps people get off drugs for good should be explored. The results of the randomised injectable opiate treatment trial were reported in  T he Lancet on 28 May 2010. The report concluded that in this group of entrenched users who had not responded to other forms of treatment, "treatment with supervised injectable heroin leads to significantly lower use of street heroin than does supervised injectable methadone or optimised oral methadone".
	In the light of these results, we have asked the Institute of Psychiatry's National Addiction Centre to carry out further work in order to explore:
	how to deliver a low-volume service such that it is accessible to a population which is relatively thinly-spread, given that patients need to travel to the clinic twice daily;
	the commissioning procedures appropriate to a service with these constraints;
	how referral pathways should operate; and
	the case management that is necessary to ensure that people progress as appropriate to less intensive treatment once they are stabilised.
	We will shortly be publishing a new drug strategy, which will set out a new approach and greater ambition to tackling drugs dependency. It will set out an ambition for a recovery focused system that is locally led and supports individuals to tackle and overcome their dependency, reduce the harm to themselves, their families and the wider community, and make a positive contribution to society. It will encourage local areas to deliver against these outcomes drawing on the evidence of what works.

Medicine: Education

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of graduates of medical schools in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009 emigrated in the year following completion of their degree.

Anne Milton: This data is not collected centrally.

Courts: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to review the provision of court services in Warrington.

Jonathan Djanogly: On 23 June, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr Clarke) announced proposals on the future provision of courts services across England and Wales. The consultation paper for the HMCS area of Cheshire and Merseyside, which can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-cp03-10.htm
	did not contain proposals concerning courts in Warrington, except that should Runcorn county court close, Warrington county court would potentially need to increase its sitting days to absorb Runcorn's hearings, which it has the capacity to do. Runcorn county court is a civil hearing centre only with all its administrative work handled at Warrington.
	The consultation closed on 15 September and we aim to announce decisions by the end of the year. There are no plans at present to further review the provision of court services in Warrington.

Legal Services Commission: Social Workers

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on the proposals of the Legal Services Commission to cap the fees payable to independent social workers appearing as expert witnesses in family courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: This change was consulted on as part of the joint Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Legal Services Commission (LSC) consultation, "Family Legal Aid Funding from 2010" which took place between December 2008 and April 2009. Following the full public consultation, it was confirmed in the consultation response that payment for legally aided independent social work in public and private law children cases would be capped to the same level as that paid by the Children and Family Court Advisory Service (CAFCASS). The consultation response was published on 21 October 2009 and is available on the LSC website at:
	https://consult.legalservices.gov.uk/inovem/consult.ti/FamilyFees2008/listdocuments
	Although both the LSC and the MoJ have continued to receive additional representations from independent social workers about the change, it is considered that it is not an effective use of public money for the LSC to pay higher rates than those set by CAFCASS.

Proceeds of Crime

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the  (a) cost to the public purse of receivers and  (b) amount recovered through confiscation orders brought about by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Receivers fees are paid from the amounts recovered from criminals, therefore no amount is paid from the public purse. However, prior to 1 October 2010, prosecution agencies had to pay indemnities to the Receivers if the amount collected was less than their fees. For example, the CPS paid £112,333 during 2008-09 and £29,875 during 2009-10. Following the new procurement process for Receivers that came into effect on 1 October 2010, the contract no longer includes indemnities for Receivers, therefore no Receivers fees will be paid from the public purse.
	HMCS pays all Receivers fees. The following table records how much has been paid on a regional basis during the last two financial years.
	
		
			  £ 
			  HMCS region  2008-09  2009-10 
			 London 632,210 984,624 
			 Midlands 366,362 719,451 
			 North East 197,986 91,806 
			 North West 359,781 443,248 
			 South East 886,742 393,371 
			 South West 212,872 151,523 
			 Wales 252,739 316,180 
			 Total 2,908,692 3,100,203 
		
	
	For the period 2004-05 to 2009-10 a total of £233.4 million has been recovered using confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act, of which £25.7 million has been returned to the victims of crime.
	For the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 October 2010, a total of £42 million has been recovered using the Proceeds of Crime Act legislation, of which £7.7 million has been returned to the victims of crime.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Compensation to the victims of Crime  Total amount recovered, including compensation and Receivers' fees 
			 2004-05 533,913 6,664,423 
			 2005-06 861,011 18,578,401 
			 2006-07 2,833,007 29,930,819 
			 2007-08 4,735,859 52,779,042 
			 2008-09 6,955,176 61,483,968 
			 2009-10 9,782,640 63,984,361 
			 Total 25,701,606 233,421,014 
		
	
	This data was extracted from the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD), as at 1 November 2010. No central database was present prior to 2004-05, so prior data is unavailable.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 41-43W, on sentencing, for what categories of offence those with 15 or more convictions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence had been convicted; and how many such offenders had received  (a) between 16 and 25,  (b) between 26 and 50,  (c) between 51 and 75,  (d) between 76 and 100 and  (e) 101 or more convictions.

Crispin Blunt: Table 1 shows offence categories for offenders with 15 or more convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence. Table 2 shows the number of offenders who were sentenced for indictable offences by number of previous convictions and cautions. These figures are derived from table 6.2 of 'Sentencing Statistics: England and Wales 2009' which was published on 21 October 2010. The published table gives a breakdown of offenders sentenced by number of previous convictions and cautions, and the same basis has been used for this answer.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of offenders with 15 or more convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category, England and Wales, 2007-09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 4,036 4,257 4,677 
			 Sexual offences 112 130 111 
			 Burglary 3,018 3,172 2,980 
			 Robbery 81 122 100 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 24,825 29,025 31,289 
			 Fraud and forgery 1,131 1,195 1,232 
			 Criminal damage 1,119 1,040 1,018 
			 Drug offences 6,606 8,061 9,205 
			 Indictable motoring offences 204 188 169 
			 Other indictable offences 6,517 6,307 5,890 
			 Total 47,649 53,497 56,671 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of offenders who were sentenced for indictable offences by number of previous convictions and cautions, England and Wales, 2007-09 
			  Number and percentage of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			  Number of offenders sentenced
			 0 to 15 previous convictions/cautions 240,032 242,477 238,091 
			 16 to 25 previous convictions/cautions 42,032 45,742 44,772 
			 26 to 50 previous convictions/cautions 27,761 32,792 34,068 
			 51 to 75 previous convictions/cautions 2,911 3,677 4,389 
			 76 to 100 previous convictions/cautions 624 824 817 
			 101 or more previous convictions/cautions 478 644 747 
			 All offenders 313,838 326,156 322,884 
			 
			  Number of offenders who do not receive an immediate custodial sentence
			 0 to15 previous convictions/cautions 185,382 184,983 184,263 
			 16 to 25 previous convictions/cautions 25,287 27,504 28,105 
			 26 to 50 previous convictions/cautions 16,367 19,180 20,913 
			 51 to 75 previous convictions/cautions 1,605 2,091 2,660 
			 76 to 100 previous convictions/cautions 334 445 455 
			 101 or more previous convictions/cautions 243 340 385 
			 All offenders 229,218 234,543 236,781 
			 
			  Percentage of offenders who do no receive an immediate custodial sentence
			 0 to 15 previous convictions/cautions 77.2 76.3 77.4 
			 16 to 25 previous convictions/cautions 60.2 60.1 62.8 
			 26 to 50 previous convictions/cautions 59.0 58.5 61.4 
			 51 to 75 previous convictions/cautions 55.1 56.9 60.6 
			 76 to 100 previous convictions/cautions 53.5 54.0 55.7 
			 101 or more previous convictions/cautions 50.8 52.8 51.5 
			 All offenders 73.0 71.9 73.3 
		
	
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Nuclear Fuels: Transport

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for the Home Department an increase in the level of security provided for the transport of nuclear materials by train through densely-populated residential areas in the West Midlands.

Charles Hendry: The Department has policy responsibility for the security of the UK's civil nuclear industry, which includes the security of nuclear material in transit. Regulation in this area reflects the UK's international obligations and best practice, and is enforced by the independent security regulator, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS). The Department keeps the arrangements for the security of the transportation of civil nuclear material under continuous review to ensure they are robust and effective, and works closely with other Departments with an interest in security issues, including the Home Office.
	My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Home Secretary are both members of the National Security Council (NSC) that was established on 12 May by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and has been tasked with overseeing all issues related to national security, intelligence co-ordination, and defence strategy, and of its nuclear sub-committee, NSC(N). This structure ensures that important security issues can be considered by all relevant Ministers from across Government.

Wind and Nuclear Power

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost is of a unit of energy generated through  (a) wind power and  (b) nuclear power.

Charles Hendry: The table, which will be placed in the Library, is taken from Mott Macdonald (2010) and gives levelised cost estimates (average generation cost per megawatt-hour) for new build plants in the main large-scale electricity generation technologies in the UK, including onshore wind, offshore wind and nuclear, at current engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract prices, and is available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/Projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf
	It should be noted that for the purposes of presentation, the table only gives either "FOAK" (first-of-a-kind) prices or "NOAK" (nth-of-a-kind) prices for each technology.
	As new technologies are deployed it is likely that costs will fall due to learning. The second table, also being placed in the Library, sets out the estimated levelised costs for projects started in 2017 with the assumption that all technologies have reached "Nth of a kind" status. It shows the expectation that new nuclear will cost approximately £68/MWh. Offshore wind and onshore wind are estimated to cost approximately £112/MWh and £86/MWh respectively.
	It should be noted that the estimates of levelised costs for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, and other drivers, meaning that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates.

Common Fisheries Policy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of progress on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The EU Commission's 2009 Green Paper provides a compelling case for radical reform of the current common fisheries policy; changes that simplify and decentralise fisheries management, enabling those closest to fisheries to plan for the long term, and giving fishermen greater incentive to fish sustainably. We expect the Commission to publish draft proposals next spring.
	We are working with other member states, and interested parties, to build support for reform ahead of negotiations next year.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that her Department's decisions on regional funding allocations are based on the most recent available population data.

Richard Benyon: The Department is a contributor to the regional development agency single pot. Population data were used as a factor shaping funding allocations to RDAs following spending review 2007 and before. Allocations to RDAs following conclusion of spending review 2010 will be determined shortly but are likely to be based on the levels of legal commitment and anticipated closure costs.

Broadband: Schools

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on ensuring that schools have access to high speed broadband services.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 2 November 2010
	The Secretary of State for BIS (Vince Cable) has not had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove) on ensuring that schools have access to high speed broadband services. Connectivity for schools is the responsibility of Department for Education. Virtually all schools have broadband connectivity already.

Chinese Paper Lanterns

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to regulate the sale and use of Chinese paper lanterns.

Edward Davey: holding answer 1 November 2010
	 We have received no recent representations specifically concerning the safety instructions on sky lanterns.
	However, BIS and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, are aware of the broader safety concerns with these products. In August, BIS wrote to local authority trading standards services, asking them to make importers aware that some sky lanterns lacked full instructions, and encouraging them to get manufacturers to address this problem.

EU Grants and Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the administration of European Regional Development Funding bidding rounds following the closure of regional development agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable) has had no recent discussions with the European Commission on the administration of European regional development. However, I met with EU Regional Commissioner Johannes Hahn on 28 September to discuss the closure of the regional development agencies and the creation of local enterprise partnerships. The new delivery structure for the European regional development fund in England is planned to be announced at Budget 2011.

Welfare State: Reform

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the likely effects on people in Scotland of the Government's proposed reductions in welfare expenditure.

Michael Moore: The Government's welfare reforms aim to create a system that supports those who need it, helps people back into work and makes work pay. Details have been laid out in the comprehensive spending review and more information will follow as the Government develops their Work programme.

Central Office of Information: Redundancy

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many applications the Central Office of Information received for voluntary redundancy in the last two months;
	(2)  what consultation he has undertaken with trade unions on procedures for making compulsory redundancies in the Central Office of Information.

Francis Maude: I have asked the chief executive of the COI to write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 1( st) November 2010:
	As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question 020602/3 regarding the compulsory redundancy scheme, which was mitigated by the voluntary applications recently undertaken by COI.
	236 applications for voluntary redundancy were received in September and October 2010.
	COI is not aware however of any consultation that has taken place between the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the trade unions regarding this compulsory redundancy scheme.

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in the settlement letter for the Law Officers' Departments in respect of the Comprehensive Spending Review;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of redundancies arising from the spending reductions proposed in the Comprehensive Spending Review in respect of  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their non-departmental public bodies;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Law Officers' Departments of staff redundancy in each of the next four years.

Edward Garnier: All pressures on Departments' budgets were taken into account as part of the spending review and settlements were allocated accordingly. The full costs of any redundancies will be met from within the Law Officers' Departments' spending review resource DEL settlement. That settlement covers all of the departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible-namely, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Treasury Solicitor's Department, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, the Attorney-General's Office and the National Fraud Authority.
	Determining optimal work force reforms in order to live within the Law Officers' Departments' spending review resource DEL settlement will be an ongoing process. The Crown Prosecution Service-which represents the most significant share of the Law Officers' Departments' overall budget-has already set out plans to reduce numbers in its headquarters directorates by 50%, and this process has already begun. These reductions are expected to be substantially met by natural wastage but there could be a small number of voluntary redundancies. However, detailed decisions regarding the number of redundancies that may be required overall-and the associated costs-have yet to be finalised.

Community Investment Tax Relief

Therese Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to bring forward proposals to extend access to community investment tax relief; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Community investment tax relief (CITR) is an approved state aid, with the period of approval running from 2002 to 2012. It has raised funds which have been lent to businesses, in or serving, disadvantaged areas. As CITR nears the end of its current state aid approval, the Government will review the operation of the scheme and will announce its intentions for the future at the appropriate time.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his proposals to pilot a rural fuel discount scheme will include the Isle of Skye.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark) on 20 October 2010,  Official Report, column 809W and the hon. Member on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 663-64W.

Personal Income

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) millionaires and  (b) billionaires resident in the UK in each year since 2000; how many people were taxed on the basis of incomes of over £1 million a year before allowances on the latest date for which figures are available; how many were so taxed in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the tax revenue generated from those so taxed in each year.

David Gauke: Estimates of the number of millionaires in the UK by year are given in the following table. Data beyond 2005 are not available due to data quality problems. HMRC is reviewing data in this area, with a view to publishing figures for subsequent years once the quality issues have been resolved.
	
		
			   Number of millionaires (thousand) 
			 2000 220 
			 2001 220 
			 2002 250 
			 2003 220 
			 2004 n/a 
			 2005 390 
			 n/a = not available 
		
	
	The latest estimate (2005) is published in the HMRC Personal Wealth National Statistics Table 13.5:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal_wealth/13-5-table-2005.xls
	An estimate of the number of billionaires is not available.
	Information on the number of taxpayers with income, subject to income tax, in excess of £1 million for 2007-08 to 2010-11 can be found on the income tax statistics and distribution table 2.5 'Income tax liabilities, by income range' published on HMRC's website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-5.pdf
	lp;1pInformation for earlier years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Taxpayers with income, subject to income tax, in excess of £1 million 
			   Number of taxpayers (thousand)  Total tax liability (£ million) 
			 2000-01 6 4,210 
			 2001-02 5 3,770 
			 2002-03 4 3,160 
			 2003-04 5 3,440 
			 2004-05 6 4,610 
			 2005-06 9 6,590 
			 2006-07 11 8,580 
			  Source: Based on the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI)

Public Expenditure

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the extent to which each Department has achieved the annual real reduction in administration expenditure agreed with his Department in the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

Danny Alexander: Administration budget outturn from 2004-05 to 2008-09, estimated 2009-10 outturn and 2010-11 plans are published in Table 1.5 in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2010, available on the Treasury website.
	The Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 committed to reduce administration budgets by 5% a year in real terms across Departments.
	PESA shows overall annual real reductions in administration budgets of 5% in 2007-08, 3% in 2008-09, 0% in 2009-10 and 6% in 2010-11. Excluding reductions of £356 million in administration budgets made as part of the £6.2 billion in year cuts, plans indicated administration budget real reductions in 2010-11 of 4%.

BBC: Commonwealth Games 2014

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has had discussions with the BBC Trust on the likely effects on his Department's contribution to the 2014 Commonwealth Games of the BBC's decision to withdraw as host broadcaster of that event.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 3 November 2010
	The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt) has not had any discussions with the BBC on this matter.

Horse Racing: Betting

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the economic and cultural effects of a reduction in the fiftieth Horserace Betting Levy.

John Penrose: It is disappointing that the Secretary of State will be required to determine the 50(th) Horserace Betting Levy Scheme after the parties failed to reach agreement by the deadline of 31 October. The Secretary of State will make his determination in due course on the basis of advice from the Minister for Sport and the Olympics. This will include consideration of all relevant issues.

Colombia: Terrorism

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of alleged collaboration between members of the Colombian Army and paramilitary organisations in the area of San Jose de Apartado in north west Colombia.

Jeremy Browne: We are aware of the vulnerability of the San Jose de Apartado community. An official from our embassy in Bogota visited the San Jose de Apartado on 13 and 14 October and met 50 members of the community. They raised the alleged collaboration between the army and paramilitary groups. Officials at our embassy have subsequently raised these concerns in meetings with the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman and a general in the local brigade of the Colombian army.

Human Trafficking

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his overseas counterparts on steps to prevent human trafficking across international borders.

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply.
	There have been no recent bilateral discussions with overseas counterparts on human trafficking. However, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary (Mrs May) and I met with the UNHCR high commissioner, Antonio Guterres, to discuss the issue.

Turkmenistan: EU External Relations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that the EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Turkmenistan is not ratified until greater protection for human rights and legal protections for religious minorities in that country are secured.

David Lidington: Turkmenistan's progress on human rights will form an important component of any UK decision to ratify the EU-Turkmenistan Partnership and Co-operation Agreement. Our priority is to support Turkmenistan in becoming a stable and prosperous partner for the UK and EU, and we stand ready to support their plans for democratic and wider reform.

Venezuela: Foreign Relations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of UK-Venezuelan relations; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: We enjoy a productive working relationship with the Venezuelan Government and work closely in areas of mutual interest, including counter narcotics and commercial interests. The UK and Venezuela share goals in poverty reduction, fairer societies and the importance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
	My hon. Friend, the Home Office Minister for Crime Prevention (James Brokenshire) met the Venezuelan Vice Foreign Minister Temir Porras on 1 October during his visit to Venezuela. He took the opportunity of this meeting to reiterate our shared responsibility with Venezuela on matters of immigration and the fight against drugs trafficking.

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding to meet staff redundancy costs was identified in his Department's settlement letter in respect of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Andrew Mitchell: All pressures on the Department for International Development's (DFID's) budget were taken into account as part of the spending review and the settlement allocated accordingly. The full costs of redundancies will be met from within DFID's spending review resource DEL settlement.

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of redundancies arising from the spending reductions proposed in the Comprehensive Spending Review in respect of  (a) his Department,  (b) its non-departmental public bodies and  (c) other public bodies which are dependent on his Department for funding;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of staff redundancy in each of the next four years.

Andrew Mitchell: Determining optimal work force reforms in order to live within the Department for International Development's (DFID's) spending review resource DEL settlement will be an ongoing process. Detailed decisions regarding the number of redundancies that may be required have yet to be finalised.
	Additionally, the total cost of any redundancies made over the SR period is wholly dependent on the awaited final structure of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Academies: Faith Schools

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether religious schools which become academies are entitled to retain selective admissions criteria.

Nick Gibb: Existing schools with a religious designation that convert to become Academies will be able to retain their admission arrangements, including where those schools give priority to applicants on the basis of their faith. Any school converting, whether or not it has a faith designation, will be able to retain admission arrangements that select on the basis of ability or aptitude.
	This reflects the underlying principle, secured through the Academies Act 2010, that schools convert to academies with the same characteristics they had prior to conversion.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria were used to determine which schools rebuilding programmes in Bolton would not go ahead under the Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Nick Gibb: On 5 July the Secretary of State announced a stop on expenditure on the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme until a more efficient use of resources has been determined. The criteria for determining which school projects within the programme are to continue were national. There were no criteria specific to Bolton.
	BSF developments are being maintained for three groups of schools:
	those in a local authority area's initial BSF scheme where Financial Close has been reached;
	the first projects due to be taken forward in a local authority area where Financial Close has not been reached but where very significant work has been undertaken, to the point of appointing a preferred bidder at "close of dialogue"; and
	some schools with planned projects subsequent to their authority's initial scheme-projects with outline business cases approved before 1 January 2010.
	The following Bolton schools have had their BSF funding stopped as they do not fit into the three aforementioned categories: Bolton Muslim Girls School, Ladybridge High School, Little Lever Specialist Language College, Rumworth Special School, Sharples School, Smithills and Westhoughton High. Kearsley Academy's capital allocation will be determined after the comprehensive spending review as announced by the Secretary of State on the 6 August.

Departmental Internet

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the URL is of each website managed by  (a) his Department and  (b) each non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible.

Michael Gove: The Department for Education is currently responsible for managing 11 websites. The URLs for these are shown at list A. A number of these were subsumed within the revised Department for Education website when it was launched last month.
	The Department's NDPBs manage a total of 21 websites, and the URLs are shown at table B.
	 L ist  A-Department URLs:
	www.governornet.co.uk
	www.need2know.co.uk
	www.teachernet.gov.uk
	www.standards.dfes.gov.uk
	www.connexions-direct.com
	www.dcsf.gov.uk
	www.education.gov.uk
	www.tre.ngfl.gov.uk
	www.myguide.gov.uk
	www.edubase.gov.uk
	www.schoolsadjudicator.gov.uk
	
		
			  Table B 
			  NDBP  URLs 
			 The British Educational Communications and technology Agency www.becta.org.uk 
			  www.evaluation.icttestbed.org.uk 
			  www.cc4g.net 
			   
			 The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency www.qcda.org.uk 
			  www.wba.qca.org.uk 
			  www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk 
			   
			 The Teaching and Development Agency www.multiverse.ac.uk 
			  www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk 
			  www.ttrb.ac.uk 
			  www.tda.gov.uk 
			   
			 The School Food Trust www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk 
			 The Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service www.cafcass.gov.uk 
			   
			 National Council for School Leadership http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/ 
			  www.nationalcollege.org.uk 
			   
			 The Children's Commissioner www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk 
			 The Children's Workforce Development Council www.cwdcouncil.org.uk 
			 Partnership for Schools www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk 
			 The Teachers TV Board of Governors www.ttvboard.org 
			 The Young People's Learning Agency www.ypla.gov.uk 
			 Ofsted www.ofsted.gov.uk 
			 Ofqual www.ofqual.gov.uk

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on overseas visits for senior officials in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: The following figures represent the spend on air travel and hotel accommodation for Department for Education officials while on overseas visits during the past 12 months.
	
		
			  Overseas visits 
			   £ 
			 Air travel  
			  2010  
			 September 1,071.06 
			 August 777.89 
			 July 0 
			 June 1,364.99 
			 May 882.59 
			 April 7,356.35 
			 Marc 6,470.75 
			 February 2,279.68 
			 January 1,347.4 
			   
			  2009  
			 December 615.97 
			 November 650.81 
			 October 11,907 
			 Total 34,724.49 
			   
			 Hotels  
			  2010  
			 September 0 
			 August 0 
			 July 266 
			 June 1,575 
			 May 186 
			 April 3,216 
			 March 500 
			 February 0 
			 January 80 
			   
			  2009  
			 December 0 
			 November 1,051 
			 October 2,639 
			 Total 9,513

Mental Illness

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the recommendations relating to his Department of the report by the Government Office for Science, Foresight on Mental Capital and Wellbeing; if he will ensure that his Department's policy development process takes account of psychological research into subjective well-being; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 21 October 2010
	The Foresight Report "Mental Capital and Wellbeing: Making the Most of ourselves in the 21st century", published on 22 October 2008, contained many key messages around the needs of children which are important for this Department, including its conclusions and broad recommendations relating to child development and learning, children with learning difficulties, and those with mental health needs.
	There is a breadth of work taking place across the Department for Education which will drive these priorities forward, including the SEN and Disability Green Paper. The Department is also working closely with the Home Office on the development of a new drug strategy, and the Department of Health on NHS reforms, a Public Health White Paper and a new mental health strategy. The Government will also be keen to reflect on the findings of some key, related work being carried out through Graham Allen's independent review of early intervention, and Dame Claire Tickell's independent review of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Council Tax Benefits

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he had with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities prior to his decision to transfer direct control of council tax benefit to local authorities.

Steve Webb: The need to reform housing benefit and council tax benefit was discussed with the associations (including COSLA) that represent local authorities as part of the consultation process on "Supporting People into work: the next stage of Housing Benefit reform". The proposal announced in the spending review was not formally discussed with the associations but COSLA and the other associations will be given the opportunity to contribute their views as the new arrangements are developed.

Council Tax: Greater London

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in  (a) Bethnal Green and Bow and  (b) Tower Hamlets were in receipt of council tax benefit on the latest date for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The information for Bethnal Green and Bow constituency is not available.
	 Notes:
	1. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed HB/CTB data electronically from local authorities. Over time this will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics, as the information supplied is quality assured.
	2. Council tax benefit caseload and average weekly amounts are available at local authority area level and these are published on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbctb.asp
	3. At present geographic breakdowns are only available for local authorities and regions. However, an exercise is being undertaken to add other geographical areas to the data: this will include parliamentary constituencies.
	(b) There were 34,740 council tax benefit recipients in Tower Hamlets local authority area in July 2010.
	 Notes:
	1. Recipients are as at the second Thursday of the month.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. Council tax benefit figures exclude any single adult rebate cases.
	4. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data is available monthly from November 2008 and July 2010 is the latest available.
	 Source:
	Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE).

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department's impact assessment of changes to local housing allowance included in its analysis properties used by local authorities as temporary accommodation.

Steve Webb: The impact document published on 23 July 2010 did not include properties used by local authorities as temporary accommodation. Housing benefit subsidy for people in temporary accommodation is considered separately to mainstream Local housing allowance rates and reviewed annually.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of claimants of local housing allowance whose monthly allowance does not cover the cost of rental payments.

Steve Webb: In August 2009, 48% of those receiving housing benefit under the local housing allowance arrangements had a shortfall in their rent caused by the customer's contractual rent being higher than the appropriate local housing allowance rate.
	Work is under way to update this information and we aim to include this in the publication on a "two-year review of the local housing allowance" due out later this year.

Pensions: Females

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many married women eligible to claim a state pension on the basis of their husband's contributions did so in each year prior to March 2008 for which figures are available; how many such claims were successful; and what estimate he has made of the number of eligible married women who failed to claim.

Steve Webb: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table. This includes married women who are entitled to some basic state pension based on their own national insurance contributions, which has been increased up to the level of the Category B pension using their husband's national insurance contribution record.
	
		
			  Married women receiving a basic state pension based on their husband's national insurance contribution record (a Category B pension)-Time series: March 1995 to February 2008( 1) 
			   Category B pension 
			  March each year  
			 1995(2) 2,106,900 
			 1996 2,141,400 
			 1997 2,176,800 
			 1998 2,208,300 
			 1999 2,233,200 
			 2000 2,253,100 
			 2001 2,252,400 
			 2002 2,251,700 
			  February each year  
			 2003(3) 2,280,480 
			 2004 2,281,620 
			 2005 2,260,270 
			 2006 2,224,160 
			 2007 2,183,890 
			 2008 2,138,380 
			 (1) Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100% data is the preferred source when producing analysis. When WPLS 100% data is not available then sample data is used instead. WPLS state pension data is available from May 2002-prior to that sample data is used.  (2) March 1995 to March 2002. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Numbers are based on a 5% sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. Figures are rated in line with the WPLS total caseload.  (3) February 2003 to February 2008 Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten.   Source:  March 1995 to March 2002: DWP Information Directorate 5% sample data. February 2003 to February 2008: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100% data.

Sky Lanterns: Safety

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations his Department has received on the safety instructions on sky lanterns.

Edward Davey: holding answer 1 November 2010
	 I have been asked to reply.
	We have received no recent representations specifically concerning the safety instructions on sky lanterns. However, BIS and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, are aware of the broader safety concerns with these products. In August, BIS wrote to local authority trading standards services, asking them to make importers aware that some sky lanterns lacked full instructions, and encouraging them to get manufacturers to address this problem.

Fire Services: West Midlands

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) he and  (b) officials in his Department have had meetings with public affairs companies working on behalf of West Midlands Fire Authority since his appointment.

Bob Neill: Neither Ministers, nor officials in the Department of Communities and Local Government have had any meetings with public affairs companies working on behalf of West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authorities. Ministers and officials meet with MPs, councillors and Fire Authority officials on a range of matters from time to time. As the Secretary of State made clear in his press notice of 5 August, local authorities should not feel the need to waste taxpayers' money on professional public affairs companies to make representations to Government.

Overseas Visits: Public Expenditure

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will list the  (a) destination,  (b) cost to the public purse and  (c) purpose of each overseas visit undertaken by the right hon. Member for Tooting when he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department.

Bob Neill: The information requested is as follow:
	
		
			  Date  Destination  Purpose of visit  Total cost including travel and accommodation  (£) 
			 5-9 April 2009 Karachi, Islamabad and Mirpur, Pakistan Ministerial visit on preventing extremism 5,028 
			 17-20 May 2009 Riyadh, Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia Ministerial visit on preventing extremism 2,332

Parish Councils: Disclosure of Information

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure transparency in the activities of parish councils.

Bob Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 21 October 2010,  Official Report, column 813W. It is important that there is transparency in the activities of parish and towns councils, and accordingly we are requesting them to publish details of items of expenditure over £500 online, so that local electors know how their council tax is being spent. We will continue to work with parish councils to help ensure that they can fulfil this request.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the deployability ratios for  (a) the Royal Marine Commando and  (b) the Army infantry are.

Nick Harvey: The information is not held in the format requested.
	The following table indicates what proportion of Royal Marine Commandos and Army Infantry were medically fully deployable, medically limited deploy able, or medically not deployable as at 1 September 2010.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Royal Marine Commando  Infantry 
			 Medically Fully Deployable 87.8 82.6 
			 Medically Limited Deployable 6.4 10.2 
			 Medically Not Deployable 5.9 7.2 
			  Notes: 1. Royal Marine Commando has been defined as all trained regular Royal Marines excluding Royal Marines Band. 2. The figures are for trained Regular Forces only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, TA and all other Reserves. 
		
	
	Other factors may lead to an individual being unable to deploy at any given time, such as absence on a training course. Data relating to such additional reasons are not held centrally and could only be determined by conducting a manual search of records on multiple sites.

Departmental Contracts

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which contracts his Department has renegotiated since May 2010; and which contracts it plans to renegotiate following the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department plans to renegotiate; and with which companies he has begun contract negotiations.

Peter Luff: At any one time the Ministry of Defence has many thousands of extant contracts. These are not centrally managed. However, during the period from May to October 2010 a number of contracts will have been renegotiated as part of routine MOD business.
	The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) set out the capabilities the armed forces require now and in the future. As a consequence, changes are required to a number of our equipment and support programmes.
	The MOD will now start to engage its suppliers in commercial renegotiations to implement the major changes that were announced in the SDSR. We have identified over 600 contracts that are likely to be renegotiated in this phase of work. At this initial stage we are unable to provide detail on precise contracts and the impact of these renegotiations on defence and associated industries.
	In parallel, MOD will also be renegotiating some private finance initiative contracts; implementing pan-government efficiency reform initiatives; introducing an improved way of managing our estates through Next Generation Estates Contracts (NGEC); and seeking short-term and structural cost reductions. Prior to the SDSR, the MOD held a series of sessions with key suppliers inviting them to offer innovative cost-effective solutions to providing current and future defence capabilities. MOD officials saw 17 major companies, including the MOD's top 10 suppliers, and received more than 100 proposals which could yet yield potentially significant savings. All of the proposals require further detailed work on legal, financial and commercial issues.
	The MOD is also in discussion with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to review the Government Profit Formula and its Associated Arrangements (the so-called "Yellow Book"). This review will start early in the new year and is expected to last for 18 months.
	The renegotiation process is being led by a steering group comprising senior members of the MOD, meeting twice a week to ensure efficiencies are delivered as planned. The steering group will report to a Whitehall Liaison Group to ensure cross-Government coherence.

Fleet Air Arm

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to retain the fixed-wing fast-jet flying skills of the Fleet Air Arm during any period between the phasing out of Harriers and the phasing in of the Joint Strike Fighter.

Peter Luff: holding answer 3 November 2010
	We plan to regenerate a Carrier Strike capability by around 2020 based on the Queen Elizabeth class carriers and the more capable Carrier Variant of the Joint Strike Fighter(JSF) in a JSF force which will be manned by Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel. We are presently putting together a detailed plan for managing the transition to the new capability. One important element of this will involve the Department working closely with industry and allies, particularly the US and France. As an example, we already have a small team of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel in the United States as part of the JSF programme, and we expect their numbers to rise steadily over the next few years.

Harrier Aircraft

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the effect on the capability of any new aircraft carrier of any deletion of Harrier capability

Peter Luff: The strategic defence and security review is due to be announced to the House on 19 October 2010. Following its publication, I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Peter Luff to John Glen, dated 3 November 2010:
	In my response to your recent Parliamentary Question (Official Report, 18 October 2010, Column 483W), I offered to write to the honourable Member after the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review to answer his question about the effect on the UK's future carrier strike capability of the (SDSR) decision to delete Harrier GR9.
	As the Prime Minister announced to the House, we have decided to retire the Harrier, which has served this country well for 40 years. Although the Harrier is a flexible and capable aircraft, against the background of the severe financial pressures the nation faces, we have concluded that we should sustain the Tornado fleet which is currently supporting operations in Afghanistan, rather than the Harrier. This was a very difficult decision, not least because of its impact on those who have dedicated their lives to flying and supporting the Harrier and those who depend on the programme for their livelihoods. We accept there will be a gap in carrier strike capability until the end of the decade, but judge that in the longer term we cannot assume that bases for land-based aircraft will be available when and where we need them.
	The SDSR confirmed that we will build both of the carriers, but that we only expect to operate one of them at any time, with the second ship being held in extended readiness. We also intend to maximise the carrier's effectiveness by adapting it to operate the more capable Carrier Variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, which will require the installation of catapults and arrestor gear. This will also provide greater interoperability with key allies, such as the US and France. We are now investigating the optimum means of delivering this outcome.
	I have asked for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Library of the House.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on his Department's decision not to purchase the short take-off and vertical landing variant of the F35 aircraft.

Peter Luff: The Secretary of State for Defence and the Defence Ministerial Team regularly engage with their US counterparts on a range of issues. Recent discussions have included the Strategic Defence and Security Review and our decision to purchase the more capable carrier-variant of the Joint Striker Fighter aircraft.

Navy

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely cost to his Department of  (a) decommissioning HMS Ark Royal,  (b) reducing by four the number of frigates,  (c) placing at extended readiness a landing and command ship and  (d) decommissioning either HMS Ocean or HMS Illustrious.

Peter Luff: holding answer 2 November 2010
	 Detailed work to estimate the costs of decommissioning these vessels, or placing them at extended readiness, is ongoing and will be completed during the Department's planning round process, and as part of the study to consider which of HMS Ocean or Illustrious will be retained in service.